Car audio as a source of Visual Rhetoric! Input...

[marleyskater420 5,000+ posts]

Thanks Nick, Andy, Tyler, and Flipx...
Thsoe are more along the lines of the responses I Was looking for.

Keep it all comin!

NG

If I wasn't so high at the time I wrote that, it woulda came out better.

I just meant to say you could show how people who do it for fun and for their jobs still talk about it in their free time in life,and even dedicate specific time "norris's camp thread...anyone else's camp threads to talk about it.

 

[ngsm13 5,000+ posts]

I'm so glad I get to include a link to this thread in my works cited when I complete my research paper. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/frown.gif.a3531fa0534503350665a1e957861287.gif

NG

 

[ngsm13 5,000+ posts]

To the top!

Looking for anymore input to put into my draft. Also, what if I said caraudio is just a product...how would you convince people otherwise. Anything helps.

NG

 

[AndonD454 10+ year member]

To the top!
Looking for anymore input to put into my draft. Also, what if I said caraudio is just a product...how would you convince people otherwise. Anything helps.

NG

what do you mean by car audio is a product? do you mean like as opposed to a sort of ongoing process?

im not exactly sure what you mean, but if its what i think you mean, then you could definately argue on the side of the process. im thinking along the lines of the ideal car audio system. regardless of what youre into, spl, or sq, it is not possible to achieve the perfect setup. you can only take steps toward a better or "more ideal" setup, based upon what is realistically possible. You have to take into consideration things such as budget, reflective surfaces, imaging, rulebooks (if competing), availability of products (there is no perfect speaker, and there never will be), etc. For example, it is not possible to design a system which produces a PERFECTLY flat response. You have to only get it as close as you can by switching thousands of variables around. also, no SPL car will probably achieve the loudest tone possible because you have to make certain sacrifices in competitions that inhibit the potential for perfection.

"perfection" is unattainable, therefore, there can never be a set product. audiophiles strive for this perfection, knowing that they cannot achieve it, but doing what they can to come as close as is possible for them.

hah just woke up from a nap, might not even be on topic at all (cant even remember the paper thesis), but hope it helps in some way

 

[kickinaudio 10+ year member]

This past summer I've driven 8,000 miles to db drag shows in four states. A couple of them were six hours away. Why do I do it, well it was a different place every weekend, so it was a way to get out of town and do something different, meet people and check out those other strip clubs. Just have a good time, and enjoy the hobby.

 

[Incriminator 10+ year member]

Noah,

Car Audio is every bit of a life style. I will say most people who do it....don't do it for Car Audio in general. Car Audio is just the device that we use to relate. Something to do and kill time, something to meet people by, something to work on, something to be proud of, and something to open you design ideas and let loose. Its one of those thing that doesn't have one true truth........its the unknown that makes it what it is.

Some people will just laugh at you, because they don't understand it or appreciate it. Car Audio is an art that only good company can understand. I myself have been laughed at and make fun of because of it. When you sleep in bed by a calculator, pen, and paper just so that 4:00 am idea doesn’t go unheard. When you out eating at a restaurant and your napkins are cover in motor design ideas and your cell phone is there to assist in converting inches into millimeters. When you invent words for your company name because a regular word would be too normal. When your UPS or Fedex man knows you by name and even comes by your place first just to get that special heavy box to you.

Until you’ve lost sleep over it, dreamed it, designed it, and built it – win, lose or draw you can’t say you became one with it.

Nick Wright

Incriminator Audio

 

[ngsm13 5,000+ posts]

Thanks Casey and Nick.

NG

 

[faulkton 5,000+ posts]

Say something about poor fools like me who purposly drive a sh*ty car so i could have $ left over for CA? I mean i only paid $600 for my POS and have well over that just in electrical upgrades and wire. How about eating top ramen and mac & cheese because i always spend to much money on CA or CD's to listen to in my car. To me its like drugs, religion or any other coping stratgy, interesting and enjoyable enough to pass time.

 

[ngsm13 5,000+ posts]

Any comments on this Alpine vehicle?

http://www.alpine-usa.com/images/main/main_body/041904/05_X5alpine_cvr.pdf

Think it sucks? Think it's awesome? Revolutionary? The ultimate listening machine?

Thanks...

NG

 

[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

Thesis:

By examining the different media and cultural outlets devoted to car audio, we can show how car audio is more than a product; it can be a lifestyle.

Thanks for any discussion/input.

Don't know if you can consider Wikipedia to be a trusted source....but:

In sociology, a lifestyle is the way a person (or a group) lives. This includes patterns of social relations, consumption, entertainment, and dress.

Given that definition of "lifestyle", I think a pretty obvious case for car audio being a lifestyle can be made. If you are into the hobby/sport, it has a LARGE impact on the people you talk to, new people you meet and what you talk to others about (social relations), what the majority of your disposable income is spent on (consumption), what you do in your spare/leasure time (entertainment).

I know I've met more new people in the past year due to car audio than I've met through other means in the previous 5yrs combined. And other than with family, a large portion of my conversation with friends and acquaintances is consumed by the conversation of car audio. Consumption's pretty self-explainatory....we're all broke, and we all know why. Entertainment; this forum is a prime example //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif How many hours per week do most people spend on audio forums? Plus all of the hours spent in your vehicle installing/tuning/fixing/improving your stereo (and normally the stereo's of friends aswell). Add to that all of the hours spent traveling to and attending competitions. This is what we do for entertainment, almost exclusively in many cases. Dress I don't think it affects all too much, other than the free T-shirts and crap you accumulate over time //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/tongue.gif.6130eb82179565f6db8d26d6001dcd24.gif

And while I do think car audio is less of "a product" and more of a lifestyle to those who are truly enthusiasts, it's all driven by our basic human needs. Nobody is into car audio for the "car audio". We are into car audio because of our love of music, our love of competition, the pride that comes from winning, the pride and satisfaction of our craftsmanship and work. It gives us an outlet for our artistic and creative side. Plus it is a constant intellectual challenge...every day is a learning experience in the hobby, and the only way you'll excel is to gain more knowledge on a daily basis.

So, it's not really "car audio" that drives us into the car audio lifestyle. Car audio is just the outlet we choose, and the one that best fits our personalities. Some people paint. Some people draw. Some people play musical instruments. We build car audio systems.

 

[ngsm13 5,000+ posts]

Excellent, thanks for the sincere reply.

NG

 

[marleyskater420 5,000+ posts]

The best way I think to relate it, is to parallel it to drag racing. Think about how everyone considers it a hobby and whatnot, and the lifestyles of the racers.

Maybe that will give you more insight into the "just a product" way of thinking. I mean my car is just a car, but I've put more blood,sweat,and tears into that ****er than I should have. You could talk about how people form bonds with their creations, and how their work is a part of who they are.